The Mephisto Club-Tess Gerritsen

As a writer, I am always in awe of Tess Gerritsen’s writing ability. As a reader, I’m spellbound. She doesn’t take her fans for granted for she edits her books ruthlessly, killing her darlings, and making sure that each novel is the best product it can be. If you’ve read any of her books, and especially ones that star Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles, than you know what to expect. They are two of the most compelling characters in fiction, so much so that TNT created a show around them. It’s a writer’s dream to achieve such status and Tess Gerritsen has done that, enabling her characters to live on outside the pages of fiction. I would love to pick her brain and ask her whether Jane Rizzoli or Maura Isles is her favorite character, but that is neither here nor there.

The Mephisto Club is set in the winter and begins on Christmas. The setting becomes a character in itself, and you can almost feel the bitter cold bite into your skin, numb your fingers, and turn your breath into frost as the description jumps off the page at you. A young woman was brutally murdered, the words “I have sinned” scrawled in blood at the scene. As they investigate further, they meet cult members from the Mephisto Club who are aiming to prove that Satan walks among us. Then another homicide occurs, then another, and the Mephisto Club realizes that the killer knows who they are and is specifically targeting them. Could the killer be one of their own? Or is it as they say, that demons walk among them, disguised as humans? These questions will propel you nonstop to the thrilling conclusion.

If that wasn’t enough, Gerritsen takes time off from the main plot to provide us insight into her characters, from Maura Isles’ forbidden love to Jane Rizzoli’s parents’ failing marriage. As a result, the book feels whole.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Five stars. If you’re a fan of Tess Gerritsen, the Mephisto Club is well worth your time.